Comments

Really beautiful subject and I like the subdued lighting. That said, I do think the use of a reflector might have brought out a subtle hint of detail on the left side of his face (our right). Just a tad round the eye area maybe, as for me the rest of the face being in complete shadow works well although maybe not to everyone's photographic taste :-) There's quite a bright highlight on his nose which could be softened or reduced. I like the catchlight in his eye.
I might also crop off that hand in the bottom left so that the focus is entirely on the figure.
One little thing - I'm not sure about the pose in terms of the hand - it looks very tense rather than relaxed and his body language seems too alert for the title. A little more relaxation in his hand, with his chin resting on it maybe, would bring an ease and natural flow to the subject. And because it's called 'thoughtful' it might be nice to have the direction of his gaze lowered so that he looks less caught by something in his line of vision.
The background - I'm in two minds about it. Part of my brain finds it quite distracting and the other half is interested enough in it to use it as context for the picture although I can't make out what it is. Still deciding!
All in all though I like the tones and the mystery of a half seen figure.
:-)
Suzanne (Crit Team)

Really beautiful subject and I like the subdued lighting. That said, I do think the use of a reflector might have brought out a subtle hint of detail on the left side of his face (our right). Just a tad round the eye area maybe, as for me the rest of the face being in complete shadow works well although maybe not to everyone's photographic taste There's quite a bright highlight on his nose which could be softened or reduced. I like the catchlight in his eye.

I might also crop off that hand in the bottom left so that the focus is entirely on the figure.

One little thing - I'm not sure about the pose in terms of the hand - it looks very tense rather than relaxed and his body language seems too alert for the title. A little more relaxation in his hand, with his chin resting on it maybe, would bring an ease and natural flow to the subject. And because it's called 'thoughtful' it might be nice to have the direction of his gaze lowered so that he looks less caught by something in his line of vision.

The background - I'm in two minds about it. Part of my brain finds it quite distracting and the other half is interested enough in it to use it as context for the picture although I can't make out what it is. Still deciding!

All in all though I like the tones and the mystery of a half seen figure.

This one is too loosely cropped for me. The part of his face in light looks very soft or purposely blurred. WHat is the reason for this, it seems quite strange.
Also..the hand resting on his chin is somewhat unattractive. If you turned his hand so it was on it's side ( spade instead of shovel ) it wouldn't detract from the face so much

This one is too loosely cropped for me. The part of his face in light looks very soft or purposely blurred. WHat is the reason for this, it seems quite strange.
Also..the hand resting on his chin is somewhat unattractive. If you turned his hand so it was on it's side ( spade instead of shovel ) it wouldn't detract from the face so much